Hi guys.

I may have space to try one or two more bamboo species.

I'm still looking for runners. I'd like to get something that is relatively unaggressive in zone 6b/7a and whose mature height is between 20 and 30 feet. They'll be planted in filtered sun in good soil.

I'll appreciate any suggestions.

Cheers,

jp

What's your definition of "less aggressive"?

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Alan.
My blog: It's not work, it's gardening!

Hi Alan.

I'm not quite sure what I mean by less aggressive. I imagine runners on a continuum. On the more aggressive side, I think rubromarginata would have a spot and maybe Japonica on the less aggressive side?

jp

You could try Semi Arundinaria fastuosa , sp or viridis. Not as fast to spread as the Pylosachys. Nice looking plant when established. Does well in 7a, semi shady to sun, will of course, grow faster in sun.

Here the Semiarundinaria spread like crazy, faster than Phy's, that is one of the reasons I culled most of mine - not very hardy and run rampant.

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Brad Salmon, zone 5b/6 Southern Indiana
Winters -20 to -25C. Summers 30 to 35C , humid. 115 cm annual precipitation, frost free from May through early October. 259.3 meters elevation. Growing 150+ species. http://www.needmorebamboo.com/

I think rubromarginata would be one of the most aggressive and prolific ones out there.

As far as the distance that rhizomes run, it seems like dulcis, moso and propinqua beijing are fairly slow runners. If you're talking about less culms, vivax doesn't seem to put out that many culms, but rhizomes can travel a longer distance.

I think Dulcis might be the best one since it can tolerate partial shade, really hasn't spread more than a few inches for me going on year 4 and it should exceed 20ft after 6 years of growth, maybe sooner for you. Of course a few inches of spread can translate into a few feet of spread when you take in account warmer summers and if you have better soil.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/31489820@N02/

http://stevespeonygarden.blogspot.com/

Interesting. Over here the Semi As are less aggressive than Phylostacys. I have 2 plantings of SA fastuosa v, one in mostly shade one in mostly sun. They grow differently, the shady one sending up tall culms and the sunny one spreading more. Perhaps the sunny one is building up steam & is going to pounce on me. Thats ok to.

Rhizome spread is very much related to local conditions and one should get several sources to agree on tame spreaders before going forward. My dulcis is a sprawling mass of well-spaced culms, it probably covers more ground with fewer culms than any other I've got but I would agree on the Beijing - now if a few more folks weigh in on slow Beijing you might have something there.

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Brad Salmon, zone 5b/6 Southern Indiana
Winters -20 to -25C. Summers 30 to 35C , humid. 115 cm annual precipitation, frost free from May through early October. 259.3 meters elevation. Growing 150+ species. http://www.needmorebamboo.com/

It would be quite interesting to see some kind of comparison. Comparing rhizome spread of bamboo in all possible locations. Almost impossible, because there is s...load of factors that have effect on growth rate, but it would be interesting to see how different bamboos grow in different conditions. Might come handy when trying to figure out, what kind of growth to expect year after stronger/weaker winter/summer.

Anything in the Yushania genus would fit your requirements for a less aggressive runner.

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M

Here in the Mid-Atlantic zone 7a eastern shore of Md., I find Japonica to be the best behaved of the 20 or so different boo i grow. I favor it in shade situations which diminishes it's vigor but even in full sun it tends to be less a runner and more a walking clumper. It also is cold hardy, drought and shade tolerant, does well in pots and it's large leaves are a nice contrast to the small and mid-size leaves of most other boo. As a screening boo it holds its lower leaves where other boo tend to leaf higher as they mature. All in all one of the best boo's to have for screening, windbreaks or pots. Spectabilis(started shooting 2 weeks ago) has proved to be my most vigorous boo, followed by rubro, bisettii, Robert Young, Temple. Golden is reputed to be aggressive but has been slow to establish for me. My theory is any bamboo can be tamed with the strategic use of shade, judicious pruning and loving neglect.